Spiffy:

Iffy:

Could be viewed as an expansion pack; the possibility of playing "Don't Want to Miss a Thing."

As a kid growing up in a small town in New Hampshire, one of the first things I learned stuck with me throughout my years: the members of Aerosmith are rock gods. Sure, that might not seem as important as "don't eat yellow snow" (that was one I learned the hard way), but things are a bit different in Sunapee. You see, my tiny hometown is where singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry met for the very first time in 1969, a fact many of the residents (myself included) are proud to bring up in casual conversation.

With that in mind, you can imagine my excitement when I heard that Activision would be releasing a standalone Guitar Hero game starring the venerable rockers. Earlier this week, some of the fine folks from Neversoft visited our office to give us our first look at Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, and we're happy to report that it's (almost) everything a fan could hope for.

Although it looks like a re-skinned version of Guitar Hero III at first glance, the demoer was quick to point out a number of changes. The entire game has been reworked to showcase a particular element of the Aerosmith experience. For instance, the character selection and equipment screens are laid over a digital recreation of Vindaloo, their Hanover-based studio. The guys from Neversoft told us that the band has been extremely hands-on with the game, spending days in the motion-capture studio and even re-recording some of the songs that no longer had usable master tapes.

Fans will also be treated to a brief video interview with the band about the venue you'll be playing in, each of which is based on a real-world location. You'll start at Nipmuc High School in Mendon before moving on up to Max's Kansas City, a popular seventies hangout in New York City. Although we haven't seen them yet, we've heard through the grapevine that you'll eventually make your way to Boston's Orpheum Theater and a halftime show that looks suspiciously like the Super Bowl. The venues have all been painstakingly recreated from old concert footage and photographs, and the developers decorated the stage to look like iconic Aerosmith album covers. The enormous toys gracing the stage at Max's instantly made us want to dig out our copies of "Toys in the Attic."

Given the fact that the game is named Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, we were more than a little surprised to learn that the first two songs you'll play in the career mode aren't even by the band. In each of the six venues, you'll need to complete at least two songs by the opening act, of which your chosen character (Axel Steel, Johnny Napalm, Judy Nails, and their friends all make repeat appearances) is a member. The songs we saw were: "All the Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople, a cover of "All Day and All of the Night" by The Kinks, Cheap Trick's "Dream Police," and the seminal Joan Jett anthem "I Hate Myself for Loving You." We can definitely appreciate the classic rock leanings of those songs, although we were told that some newer bands will also be appearing.